


Dreams Never Die

by CaptainHadrian



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Dadan Family is Luffy's Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Original Bandit Characters - Freeform, Original Character(s), because they needed names
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-11-29 04:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18217994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainHadrian/pseuds/CaptainHadrian
Summary: A young Luffy learns just how far he has to go before he's strong enough to protect what's important to him. He won't let anybody's dreams die, and he's ready to fight for the strength to never fail that vow. The Dadan Family just wants to make sure the kid is ready to survive the path ahead of him. The world? It isn't ready for the excitable rubber ball of chaos heading their way -one with a dream or three to bring to fruition.In one world, Luffy only ever dreamed of becoming the Pirate King. In another, he decides he can't let go of the things his brothers left behind.





	1. Young

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Implied/Referenced character death, injury. Nothing explicit, I don't think.  
> Might revise a bit more later, an old work I decided to revisit (it's been three years since I started this thing, wow). I hope you enjoy!

            The terminal blazed.

            The fiery hell swirled with agonized wails, rivaled only by the outraged howls of those that battled inside the inferno. Ashes and smoke stung Luffy’s eyes, but he watched his brother’s every move, following the gleam of the pipe as it fought against the chaos.

            The stench of burning trash and flesh stung his nose, the heat licking at his feet, absent of the sandals he’d lost a while ago. The blood and soot in his mouth left him nauseous when he swallowed.

            Ace looked back at him, then glared at the bandit that had stayed with him -what was his name again? Jojo? Jiro? -and said, “Get Luffy out of here.”

            Luffy shook his head and stood straighter, “No, Ace! I’m staying! I can still- still fight…”

            He’d tried to step forward, tried to look as if he could handle himself, to look _strong,_ like his brothers were –but his legs betrayed him. He swayed, fell back, and the bandit caught him. Luffy struggled up, and his voice was ragged from the soot he’d been breathing, “I’m _staying.”_

            Ace scowled, but Luffy couldn’t say any more because the bandit scooped him up an threw them both to the side. Luffy’s head spun. There was a gleam of metal, orange in the firelight, followed by a heavy smack that Luffy recognized as Ace’s pipe hitting something. Luffy scrambled to see better, just in time to spot the pirate flying into a pile of embers. Luffy’s ears twitched at the scream that followed.

            Ace moved to face him, look him in the eye.

_“You. Can’t. Fight anymore!”_

            Luffy flinched.

            He hadn’t ever heard Ace sound like that. Like he was hurt, scared. Like those feelings had nothing to do with Ace himself, but someone else.

            The bandit picked him up and stood, “Kid, he’s right. You were hurt when we got here, and now you can barely stand.”

            Ace once again caught his gaze, his eyes fierce and kind, like they always were, but also _scared,_ and Luffy didn’t want him to be scared.

            “Go back and get better, Luffy. Don’t worry about me,” Ace smiled.

            Luffy was scared, too. He trusted Ace, _of course he did,_ but there was this nagging feeling, one that wouldn’t go away, and he felt panic in his chest, “Ace-!”

            “I won’t die.”

            Luffy froze. Ace held his gaze, nothing but confidence in them. The heat and the fatigue finally caught up to him, and Luffy slumped in the bandit’s grip.

            “Promise?”

            Ace grinned, relief in his voice, “Promise.”

            Several pirates were then thrown into view, followed by Dadan, who barreled her way through the fray. She spotted them and snarled, _“What are you waiting for, Jorda?_ Get them out of here!”

            Luffy vaguely wondered who Jorda was, but forgot about it when Ace darted forward, _away from him –_ and smacked aside a pirate aiming for Dadan from behind, “I’m staying, Dadan!”

            Dadan huffed loudly enough for Luffy to hear it.

            “You little brat!” she yelled, but Ace just took up a spot at her back. The bandit holding Luffy took this as his cue to leave, and Luffy squirmed to look over the his shoulder, fisting his hands into the man’s shirt when the weight of anxiety settled into the pit of his stomach.

            His brother eventually disappeared into the fire and the chaos.

            “It’s a promise…”

* * *

 

            “Let me go.”

            Luffy glared at Magra, who sat in the doorway of the bandit’s hideout, steady as a rock. Luffy had woken up to a clear and sunny morning, ripe for adventure –but _his brothers weren’t here_ and all he could think of was smoke and ash.

            That feeling in his gut hadn’t left in the three days he’d been back at the hideout, and it scared him, and sitting still while he was scared was driving him crazy. _Were they okay? Hurt? What if they got caught?_ Even his meals couldn’t lift his spirits.

            Magra sighed and shook his head, repeating his earlier explanation, “We’re all worried, Luffy. You have to be patient. Dadan, Dogra, and Dolt are down there with him, and they wouldn’t let anything happen. Besides, you’re in no condition to go anywhere.”

            He gestured to the bandages across Luffy’s chest, arms, and feet, covered in still-healing burns and scrapes. Luffy looked down, eyes hidden in the shadow of the brim of his hat. His shoulders shook, his fists clenched, and his nose sniffed –but he didn’t cry. He wouldn’t cry.

            “But… but they’re my _brothers!”_

            Someone hit a wall, and the sound of splintering wood drew their attention.

 _“You think we don’t feel the same way?”_ Jorda snapped, fist planted into the far wall.            “Dadan, Dogra, Dolt, and you kids are a part of our family, too! I want to go find them as much as you do, _we all do,_ but if we went to Gray Terminal now, we’d be caught and killed in no time!”

            Silence reigned in the wake of his outburst, broken only by Jorda’s harsh breathing and Luffy’s continued sniffling.

            Magra sighed.

            “You’ve got to have faith in them. They’re capable people,” he looked to Jorda, including him in the scolding, “All we can do now is wait.”

            Jorda stared back for a moment. Then he huffed, pulled his fist from the wall, and went to push past Magra and walk out the door.

            Only to freeze on the steps.

            “Dolt-? _Dogra!_ What happened?”

            Then it was a mad scramble as everyone tried to get to the door, only for Magra to shove them all away again as Jorda and Dolt carried Dogra inside, to an empty space of floor.

            “Lack!” Magra shouted, “Where is that man-?”

            “Here,” one of the bandits pushed forward, dragging a bag along with him, and settled at the floor beside Dogra. Dolt immediately collapsed against the wall, staff clattering to the ground beside him. Jorda hovered over them all.

            Luffy trotted forward, though, the question burning in his mind, “Where’s Ace?”

            Dolt tensed. There was some kind of emotion in his eyes that Luffy found confusing. What was wrong? Where was Ace?

            Dolt turned away from Luffy’s pleading gaze, “… Luffy, I’m sorry…”

            Luffy blinked.

            “Then… Dadan, too?” Magra whispered into the quiet. Dolt nodded to the floor. Jorda and the other bandits muttered curses and words of grief.

            Luffy shook his head, brows creased, feet glued to the spot. _What…?_

            “You two seem to have gone for a swim,” Lack commented, wrapping Dogra’s head in a crisp, white bandage. Dogra, now drowsily awake, covered his eyes with his arm, shaking in silent fury. Dolt flinched at the implied question and opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out.

            Dogra whispered, “That –that _damned Celestial…”_

            Nervous static filled the room. Magra’s eyes grew wide, “Dogra, what happened?”

            “Sabo…” His voice hitched. _“He killed Sabo.”_

            “What!?”

            Luffy’s body responded to the shock that flooded through his veins by moving. He ran over and pushed Lack away with more strength than any of them thought the boy possessed. Luffy grabbed the front of Dogra’s sopping shirt and shook him, “You’re lying! _Both of you!_ They can’t be-! Ace and Sabo can’t…!”

            Dogra’s eyes filled with tears, and he reached up to Luffy’s hands, “Luffy…”

            “Ace… had gotten caught by one of Bluejam’s crew.”

            All eyes turned to Dolt, who met none of them, “We –we ran to try and help, but Dadan –she covered us. She got shot. Three times. I tried to get to her, but… there wasn’t anything I could do. We were near their ship –I think they thought they could get away, but it was on fire too, and the mast –it fell, right on top of Ace. The –the fire got worse and we –we couldn’t get close – _I couldn’t do anything…”_

            Luffy forgot how to breathe.

            “We were trying to get back, on the cliffside path,” Dogra picked up. “Sabo –he’d sailed out of the port in a little fishing boat. He was flying a black flag, and…” He swallowed. “The –the Celestial’s galleon fired on him. I jumped in, I tried to get to him _–he was sinking in the water –_ but I was too far away, and they fired again and –and…”

            Dogra stopped. Dolt covered his own wet eyes. Magra’s knuckles were white. Jorda slid down the wall slowly, hands clasped tight.

            Lack gently pried Luffy’s hands from Dogra’s shirt and continued to bandage him with hunched shoulders. The air was heavy, and Luffy couldn’t breathe-

            “You –you’re lying…”

            Magra looked up. Luffy’s breaths were shallow and panicked, “They –they aren’t –they can’t be…”

            Lack shook his head, “Luffy—"

_“No!”_

            The door slammed against its hinges, and Luffy disappeared into the forest.

            “Wait!”

            “Luffy!”

            “Kid!”

* * *

 

_Liars._

            “No. No. No.”

            His heart pounded against his chest. His lungs burned. His injures stung.

_“Hey, where are you going, Ace? Let’s be friends!”_

_“Leave me alone, you idiot!”_

            “No, no, _no, no…”_

_“You guys wanna be pirates!? I do too!”_

            “This isn’t funny! Where are you guys!?”

_“Run, Ace!”_

_“No. You guys go on.”_

_“Are you crazy!? Come on!”_

_“I won’t run from a fight!”_

            “Ace –Ace’s gotta get famous-“

_“I’ll get stronger and stronger and win all my fights, and be famous, and the world will know who I am!”_

            “Sabo –Sabo, you’ve gotta write that book-“

_“I’m gonna sail the whole world and write a book about everything! I’ll learn to navigate and gather a crew, and we’ll be the freest pirates to have ever set sail!”_

            Luffy’s foot caught on a root. His leg stretched from the force of his sprint, snapped back, and sent him tumbling further. His hat flew off his head and settled on the grass beside him.

            He paid it no mind. He curled in on himself, clutched at his arms, and spoke with a small voice.

            “But –but Ace promised…”

_“I won’t die.”_

            “Sabo was supposed to be happy…”

_“Let’s forget about Sabo for now. He might be happy there.”_

            “We –we’re supposed to be _brothers!”_

_“Did you guys know that if you share a drink, you become brothers?”_

_“Brothers? I wanna be brothers!”_

_“This way, even if we end up apart or on different ships, we’ll always be connected! It’s a bond that can never be broken!”_

_“Wow, Ace, I didn’t know you could be so cheesy.”_

_“Shut –shut up, Sabo!”_

_“Haha! But I like it! Brothers!”_

_“Brothers!”_

            The voices of the memory faded. Luffy was left with only the sound of the wind in the trees.

_Alone._

            “You –you guys can’t just leave me…” he said, tears dripping to the dry earth.

            They hadn’t shown up yet.

            Sabo hadn’t come and told him that he was going to stay with them from now on.

            Ace hadn’t come and hit him over the head, saying he wouldn’t die that easily.

            They hadn’t come.

            “It hurts… when I’m alone…”

* * *

 

            “You go look over there! We’ll search this side!”

            “Stupid! Why’d he have to run off at a time like this?”

            “One of you go check their treehouse!”

            “Luffy…” Magra muttered, “You’d better be safe…”

            “Dadan…” Jorda said, “She’d skin us alive if she found out we lost him, wouldn’t she?”

            Magra watched Jorda’s regretful expression, then shook his head with a huff, “Skinned and fried in a vat of oil, probably.”

            Jorda gave a wan smile, but it fell away, “I shouldn’t have yelled at him like that. He’s just a kid.”

            “It’s not your fault,” Magra eyed the rubbed-away bark of the tree trunk next to him, worry pooling in his gut, “We’ve all lost someone in this mess.”

            A massive roar filled the forest, and Magra and Jorda turned towards the source.

            “It would be just like the kid to go running into trouble, wouldn’t it?” Jorda said.

            Magra frowned and ran into the thicket. Jorda followed behind, loading his shotgun in a fluid motion. The trees thinned into a small clearing, and Magra was filled with heated anger.

            Luffy was bleeding heavily from a gash in his shoulder –he’d just been barely nicked by the beast standing above him. A ghastly bear, paw reared back to strike again-

            “Just try it, you damned beast!” Jorda skid to a halt and took aim, shooting the raised paw. The bear pulled away, growling as it spotted them. Jorda had already reloaded. He fired again, hitting it dead in the eye, and it reared back on two legs in pain. Jorda aimed again, this time for its other eye, and the bear fell, crying out in anger.

            “Now, Magra!”

            Magra moved quickly to the boy’s side. Luffy clutched at his wound, shaking, face red and wet and the blood seeped out under his hand. Magra pulled off his jacket and wrapped him up as carefully and hastily as he could. Luffy looked even smaller curled in Magra’s arms.

            Another shot, and he stood, running around the bear and meeting Jorda once again. The bear, however, wasn’t done, and _roared._

            Then a wooden pole came down on its head, and it collapsed to the ground with a grunt.

            “You look like you needed some help,” Dolt appeared from the bear’s back, still looking worse for wear, breathing hard –and holding a bright yellow hat in his hand. “Let’s get out of here before it gets its bearings!”

            Magra nodded, and took off back to the hideout, the other two flanking him. Luffy was still bleeding –they would need to get him to Lack as soon as possible-

            “It –It hurts…”

            He glanced down, and quickened his pace, “We’ll patch you up, Luffy. Just stay awake for me.”

            “It hurts… being alone…”

            Magra’s jaw clenched.

            “This –this…” Luffy weakly moved his injured arm, tears on his face, voice catching, “Doesn’t –hurt…”

            Jorda growled and snatched the hat from Dolt. He caught up to Magra’s side, then shoved the hat down on Luffy’s head.

            “Listen up, Kid!” He said, louder than he had to. “I swear to you, as long as we’re here, you won’t _ever_ be alone. Got that!?”

            Luffy shook with tears. Magra and Dolt decided that, no, they wouldn’t let Luffy feel alone.

            Ever.

            Lest Dadan and the boys roll over in their graves.

* * *

 

            The sky was clear of the ashy clouds that had been littering the mountain, now. The grassy ledge was quiet, way too quiet, and Luffy could only remember a similar place, where they’d all looked out to the wide open sea and screamed their hopes and dreams. He could still remember the looks on their faces when he’d screamed his own.

_“Haha, that’s Luffy for ya.”_

_“Don’t really know what I was expecting, but I guess that’s about right for someone like him.”_

            Ten days. Ten days since he’d gotten the news. Thirteen since he’d last seen Ace. A week more since he’d last seen Sabo.

            His eyes were raw from tears and stung from the ocean breeze. A hand wandered to the bandage still on his left arm, where that bear had snuck up on him and tossed him around like he was nothing.

            Like he had gotten beaten down so quickly in the terminal fire. Because he wasn’t strong enough.

            “I’m… just _weak…”_ he whispered and hugged his knees to his chest. He let his head drop onto them, the brim of his hat shading his eyes as they followed the waves.

            He hadn’t been able to stop Sabo from being taken away.

            He hadn’t been able to fight alongside Ace.

            He hadn’t even been able to _protect himself._

            “Hey, Luffy.”

            Luffy looked up to find Dolt standing beside him, gazing out to sea.

            “You sure do love the water, don’t you?”

            “Mmm-hmm…”

            Dolt glanced at him, sighed, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope.

            “This was delivered to the hideout today. It’s a letter from Sabo. He must’ve sent it before he sailed.”

            Luffy’s head whipped around, eyes wide, and regarding the paper with reverence. _From Sabo?_ He wanted to reach out, take it, drink in the words his brother gave him, but…

            He pouted, “I can’t read that well… Sabo –Sabo was teaching me…”

            Dolt hummed. “Well,” he said, sitting down, “I guess I’ll read it to you.”

            Luffy watched him open it with care, handing over the envelope when he got the letter out. Luffy took it and held it carefully.

            Dolt squinted at the words on the page, “Wow, Sabo’s handwriting is so _tiny._ Okay, here goes…”

* * *

  _‘Ace, Luffy,_

_I hope you’re both safe. I was really worried when I found out about the fire, but I have faith that you’re both fine._

_By the time you get this letter, I’ll already be at sea. Yes, I know, we promised to wait until we were older –but a lot has happened since I last saw you. This is my way of becoming stronger. Then, one day, we can meet again on the wide open sea, as free pirates!_

_Ace, you’re probably really mad at me for leaving first, but I’ve got something extremely important to ask of you. As my fellow older brother, I need you to watch over Luffy for me. He’s still such a crybaby._

_Luffy, you’re probably crying right now, but I know you can get stronger and achieve your dream. I know all of us can. So, don’t miss me too much, okay?_

_Because we’re brothers, so no matter how far apart we are, we’ll always be together._

_I promise I’ll see you guys again._

_Sabo’_

* * *

 

            Dolt finished and tried his best to keep from crumpling the letter into clenched hands. He was angry. At that Celestial, for taking Luffy’s brothers away. At himself, for not being able to stop two kids from dying for no reason.

            Who knew a bandit could care so much for a bunch of brats, huh? He could almost laugh.

            He expected to see Luffy crying again, but when he looked up, it was to a dry-eyed kid reaching out for the paper in his hand. Dolt handed it over and watched Luffy flatten out the creases with his fingers. They sat in silence.

            Then Luffy stood, walking close enough to the edge of the cliff to make Dolt nervous –Luffy wasn’t the most graceful kid.

            Luffy took a deep breath, rubber chest expanding slightly, and-

_“ACE! SABO!”_

            -and Dolt stuck a finger in his ear with a wince, certain that his eardrums had busted. He couldn’t stop the grin from reaching his face despite it.

            There was the loud, obnoxious kid they all knew.

            Luffy looked down at the page, “I’m –I’m gonna get stronger, okay? Stronger and stronger and _stronger,_ and I’ll become a pirate. A _great_ pirate! The most famous pirate that ever set sail, just like you, Ace! And I’ll –and I’ll learn how to read and write and sail the whole world! I’ll write a book all about it for you, Sabo!”

            He took a moment to catch his breath, tears finally pricking at his eyes. But despite it, he looked lighter. Luffy reached up, planted a hand on his straw hat and looked back out toward the horizon.

            “And at the end of it all, I’ll be the PIRATE KING!”

            Luffy smiled, and while it couldn’t be compared to the blinding grin he usually wore, it was _there,_ and Dolt never knew he could feel this much relief.

            Then a loud rumble filled the air, cutting through the atmosphere. Luffy turned to Dolt.

            “Uh…” He put a hand on his stomach, the other still on his hat, “I’m kinda hungry…”

            Dolt couldn’t help it.

_“Pff –hahahahaha!”_

            The sudden one-eighty was just so _Luffy_ that he could do nothing but guffaw. Luffy’s put-out stare only made him laugh harder.

            “Fine! I’ll go find my own food!”

            Dolt sobered up –because, _no,_ he wasn’t letting they boy go stomping back into the forest so soon –and caught Luffy’s arm before he passed, “Hold on there, Kiddo.”

            Luffy’s arm extended a bit before he stopped and looked back. Dolt grinned, “There’s food back at the hideout. You can have whatever you want as long as you do one thing.”

            Luffy blinked and leaned in, “Whatever I want?”

            Dolt nodded and whispered conspiratorially, “You just gotta play keep-away with everybody else. Don’t let the other guys get any of it.”

            Luffy ran, his arm stretching further as Dolt was still holding it. Dolt let it go and the appendage snapped back to its owner with a strange noise.

            “Maybe an impending lack of food will get everybody off their asses…” He snickered, then turned back to the ocean once more before heading back himself.

            “I promise you _all._ We’ll take care of him.”


	2. Memento

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Nothing big. Fallout of loosing people.

             “I knew that’d kick you guys into gear!”

             _“Shut up!”_ The entire hideout yelled back. Dolt just laughed as he grabbed a small bowl of food that had somehow escaped Luffy’s stomach -Dogra had likely saved it for him. Luffy was currently passed out on the floor, stomach distended to frankly unnatural proportions.

             Dolt just stepped over him, leaving the building full of half-hearted glares that lacked any real heat, and took a seat on the steps.

             “So, _you_ were the one that told him to eat everything in the vicinity.”

             “Hmm?” Dolt glanced over his shoulder to see Magra standing in the doorway, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stuck a wad of rice in his mouth.

             Magra shook his head and sat beside him, “You’re lucky there was anything left. He ate all the meat we had before he fell asleep.”

             Dolt rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle, “Well, it’s fine, isn’t it? Haven’t seen him that excited in a while.”

             Magra smiled, “I don’t think anyone is actually complaining either.”

             Dolt finished off his small portion and set the bowl down beside him. He looked out into the forest, imagining what it would be like if Dadan were to come stomping up to the hideout right now, two children in hand, yelling at them all to get off their asses and get some work done—

             Magra placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up over this.”

             Dolt shrugged him off and leaned back on the steps, “Look at us! Toughest bandits this side of East Blue, holed up in our mountain. We’ve all gone soft up here! The world’s a dangerous place! That’s the life of a bandit, here one day, gone the next…”

             He trailed off and swallowed.

             “I was _right there,_ Magra,” Dolt whispered. “ _Right there._ I saw all of them –I saw Dadan go down, I saw Ace get buried under that damn ship, I saw Sabo fall into the water… but I couldn’t do anything. Was there anything I _could_ have done…?”

             “Lingering on the _what if’s_ won’t do you any good, Dolt,” Magra said. “We don’t know everything. I know that if there was something else that could have been done, you would have done it. All we can do now is move on.”

             “I know that…” Dolt sighed. “It’s just going to take time, I guess. It’s too quiet around here.”

             “Hopefully a little less so, when that one’s back to his old self,” Magra gestured back to the hideout, and Dolt couldn’t help but grin a bit.

             “That kid’s amazing, you know. Wish I could bounce back like him.”

             “You’re stronger than you look.”

             Dolt hummed at that but didn’t reply.

             Then the sound of heavy footsteps, unmistakably irritated, turned their attention back to the door.

             Jorda held his shotgun over one shoulder, an eye twitching as he spotted Dolt, “All right, _you,_ let’s go. It’s your fault the food’s gone, so you’ve got to go hunting too.”

             “Aww, and you’re gracious enough to help me!” Dolt grinned.

             Jorda kicked him in the back and stomped off, “Come on, you bastard.”

             “Ow, ow, ow, you didn’t have to do that…”

             Magra huffed as the two of them wandered off into the forest. He had a feeling Dolt would be just fine.

* * *

              “Reggie!”

             The bandit was -quite rudely, in his opinion -knocked into wakefulness by a shoe.

             Reggie groaned and clutched his head before rolling over, “What? Sun’s still up. Not my watch yet.”

             “Have you seen the kid? I’ve gotta check his burns,” Lack asked.

             Reggie cracked an eye open and frowned, “I dunno. Been asleep. Thought he was with Ido an’ them.”

             Lack sighed, snatching his shoe back, “Ido took some of the guys to scout out the Terminal earlier.”

             “Then he’s with Dolt.”

             “Dolt’s out hunting with Jorda again. We still haven’t restocked from the other day.”

             Reggie sat up, dread in his stomach, “…Magra? Dogra?”

              Lack’s face didn’t change, but Reggie thought that if he could frown anymore, he would have, “They went down to Fusha today.”

             Reggie winced, sighed and rolled out of his hammock, “All right, I’m up.”

             “About time.”

             _“This_ is why I said we should’ve snagged those short-distance transponder snails a while ago,” Reggie grumbled as he grabbed his knives and kicked on his sandals, “We wouldn’t _have_ this problem if you guys’d just listen to me…”

             “Quit your complaining and come on. I’m staying here in case he comes back with Dolt and Jorda, you go down to the Terminal. They said they’d be taking the cliff path. Who knows how we missed the kid.”

             “Well, he has been running around Goa for a while without getting caught…” Reggie thought, hand on his chin, “We might could turn him into a bandit, yet.”

             Lack kicked him in the backside, “Fat chance. Now get outta here.”

             “I’m going, I’m going!”

             Reggie left the hideout with a yawn, despite the worry in his stomach. He would find the kid and head back in no time -and then he’d shove the first half of his watch onto Lack for his trouble.

             He reached the start of the long cliffside path, leading around Goa and to the remains of the Terminal. It wasn’t smoldering anymore at least.

             “Yeah, that’s a wonderful plan…”

             “What is?”

             Reggie flinched, nearly jumped out of his own skin, and looked down to see the object of his search looking up at him curiously.

             “Damnit, kid—” Reggie started, prepared to drag the kid back to hideout and toss him at Lack. What stopped him, however, was the subdued frown on the boy’s face.

             “What are you doing out here?” He asked instead.

             Luffy harrumphed in that way only children could, and crossed his arms, “I asked you a question first!”

             Reggie’s eye twitched, “I was just thinking how great it would be to drag you back to the hideout so I could get back to my nap. Unless you can give me some reason not to do that.”

             Luffy looked away, pouting, and Reggie was near the edge of his patience when he finally answered.

             “I gotta go get something.”

             Reggie glanced down the path, “What could you possibly need from over there?”

             “Ace’s pipe.”

             “His _what?”_

“His pipe!” Luffy yelled, waving his arms, “We used them to fight with! We had Sabo’s at the treehouse, and mine got broken, but Ace’s is still out there!”

             Reggie let that wash over him and made the mistake of looking into the eyes of a wide-eyed child on a mission. There wasn’t even any guarantee the thing Luffy wanted would even have survived the fire, intact even less so. Besides, Lack would kill him for getting sidetracked on some mission when the Terminal was probably still dangerous…

             “And _this?_ This is a bad idea.”

             “What is –hey! Put me down! Where are we going!?”

             Reggie picked the kid up by his shirt and started walking down the path.

             “To Gray Terminal. Now shut up before I change my mind.”

             Luffy fell quiet, and Reggie glanced at him.

             He was met by a blinding smile, “You’re not that bad after all! Thanks, Rutabaga!”

             _“Rutabaga?”_ Reggie honestly didn’t know what to feel about that. “It’s Reggie!”

             Luffy just laughed and reached up to swing from his arm like the monkey he was.

             Reggie guessed he could bear with holding him for a while longer.

* * *

              Reggie honestly hoped he wouldn’t have to return to the Terminal within the year. Much less within a month.

             It hadn’t been long at all –but the trash was once again piling up, the scavengers and homeless and criminals once again roaming the makeshift hills. The only difference was the layer of soot that caked the ground and stirred with every step he took. They hadn’t passed by Ido and the others on the way there, which meant they were probably still scouting out the area.

             Not that there was much to see. No one was watching the place, not anymore. The Celestial Dragon had left almost as soon as he’d arrived. Goa could care less what happened to their dump when it wasn’t up for scrutiny.

            Luffy had stopped laughing when they’d gotten close enough to see the smog. The shore where the remains of Bluejam’s ship resided was on the other side of the terminal, and Reggie was starting to wonder how wise this expedition was.

            He looked down at the kid, still hanging from his arm -which was starting to get very tired -but at least no longer swinging. Luffy looked around the terminal with a frown, and it took Reggie a moment to realize what kind of emotion was on his face.

            Luffy was unsure. Not exactly scared -Reggie had seen the kid scared, weeks ago in the hideout when they’d all been hoping in blissful ignorance.

            This was hesitance. Something barrel-right-ahead Monkey D. Luffy had never actually shown before.

Reggie, honestly, thought it was fairly _normal_ to feel uneasy about return ingredients to this hellhole, after everything that had happened.

“Let’s find Ido first, yeah?”

            Luffy hummed and let go. A plume of dust poofed from his landing, getting soot on the bandages around his legs. The kid pinned him with blazing eyes.

            “How do we get to the ocean?”

            Reggie’s lips thinned. Damn it, coming down here was one thing. Moving around by himself and without the guys at his back and the kid in tow? Even he was nervous of all the greedy eyes on them. He and Luffy weren’t exactly a shining example of cleanliness, but they were the only ones not covered in two inches of black dust -and that made them targets. Confident in his skills as he was, Reggie didn’t want to end up in a fight today.

            Despite all of that…

            Reggie groaned, “You’re just going to run off at the first opportunity if we don’t go right now, aren’t you?”

            Luffy’s expression became even more determined.

* * *

             Luffy hadn’t ever really _liked_ Gray Terminal.

            They found all kinds of interesting things there, sure. But it smelled funny, the people weren’t really that interesting, and most of all Luffy couldn’t see the sky past the haze overhead or the ocean past the big mountains of trash.

            Luffy had always liked it best where his brothers where. Sabo had always liked it best in their treehouse. Ace had always liked it best where he could see the sky.

            Luffy’s pipe was broken, and Sabo’s was in the treehouse, but Ace’s was still down here somewhere.

            Ace wouldn’t like staying in this place.

            Luffy walked on, following the bandit through the trash. He felt fidgety, here. He felt like he’d turn a corner and there’d be heat and fire. Which really didn’t make sense, because he also knew there’d be no fire. The fire was over.

            But the mystery feeling didn’t care that he _knew_ there wouldn’t be a fire. It just kept reminding him there _had been_ a fire. Luffy kept seeing licks of flames in the corners of his vision, kept smelling the soot around him, kept imagining a darker sky, and Ace-

            He shook his head. Ace wouldn’t like this place.

            Luffy caught the scent of salt water, and started running.

            “Hey- Luffy! Wait!” The bandit -and what did he say his name was again? Ruddy? Robbie? -called after him, but Luffy was already halfway up one of the trash heaps, pulling himself up until he reached the top, and could see the other side.

            The air wasn’t as bad here, but the water, the beach -it was still tainted black, sand gray instead of white, water dark and murky instead of clear and welcoming, like it was supposed to be. Luffy gulped, looking down the length of the beach -and there, to his right. Splintered, collapsed planks and a fine sheen of undisturbed ashes. He could hear the pained creaks and groans of the remaining wood as the waves pushed and pulled.

            Luffy frowned and shook his head. Ace would _hate_ it here.

            The sound of a piece of tin clanking pulled his eyes away, and he blinked when he saw the bandit pull himself to the top of the mound and make a lot of noise on his way.

            “Damnit- kid- why can’t you- just stay- _still!”_ The bandit finally pulled himself up beside Luffy, who blinked at him. Then he smiled and laughed.

            This bandit was really funny. He was helping him, too, and Luffy didn’t like mountain bandits, but these guys were turning out to be not that bad. Dolt was fun and Lack was a cool doctor and they let him eat _meat,_ so Luffy thought they might even be good guys. It made sense, really. There were pirates like Shanks, then the guys like Bluejam who called themselves pirates. Which meant there were bandits like those guys that attacked him and bandits that weren’t bad too.

            The bandit pouted, “C’mon, kid, I’m far enough in the hole with Lack for not bringing you back when I found you. Don’t laugh at me on top of it.”

            Luffy laughed some more, then hopped to his feet. The trash under him creaked but held, and he pointed down below them, “That’s where Ace’s pipe is, right?”

            The bandit had a weird look on his face and frowned, but nodded, “Yeah, that’s the old ship- _Luffy, wait up!”_

Luffy hopped down the trash heap, laughing again at the sound of the bandit scrambling after him and making a mess, and landed at the bottom with another puff of soot. He frowned and sneezed.

            This stuff really clogged his nose, too.

            When he made it to the ship, he looked and looked and looked. He kept looking even when the bandit caught back up and watched him wander around the place, then started looking too. He looked even after his arms and legs were black with the ashes around them, sifting through the sand and the mess of wood, ignoring the splinters he got because-

            Because…

            He wanted Ace to be somewhere he would like. Not here, buried under Bluejam’s ship.

            “Luffy,” the bandit called to him, “we should head back. Wandering the terminal after dark is dangerous.”

            Luffy looked up at him. Then he looked down at the piece of wood he was trying to move by himself.

            “No.”

            “Luffy-”

            _“No!”_ Luffy told him. “I don’t wanna. Not yet. Not until I find it.”

            He started pulling at the wood again. The bandit sighed.

            “Luffy, I know this is important to you, but we should head back soon. We didn’t tell anyone else where we were going, and they’ll start to worry.”

            “No. I’ve gotta find it.”

            “We can come back tomorrow if you want-”

            Luffy gave up on the wood and turned to face the guy - _Re… Re… Reg- Reggie! That was his name_ -to face Reggie. He was tired and hungry and the places he got splinters hurt and his burns were itching and he felt like the claw marks he got from the bear were making his arm heavier-

            “I can’t, Reggie!” He said, and Reggie blinked. “I have to find Ace’s pipe, I can’t leave it here, or- or- I don’t wanna come back here again! I don’t like this place, and Ace _really_ wouldn’t like it, so I just wanna get his pipe so I can take it back and- and- put it somewhere he would like!”

            He sniffled, realized his cheeks were wet, and wiped at his face angrily. He was tired of crying. He didn’t want to cry. He wanted to get Ace’s pipe and bring it back and leave it on the cliff by the sea, up high and where he can hear the ocean, because that was where Ace liked it best.

            He turned around and went back to pulling at the piece of blackened wood. He had to find it.

            He tugged once, twice -and then the weight of the wood suddenly disappeared as he pulled it over his head.

            Luffy blinked and looked up. Reggie was standing there, holding the piece with him.

            “Okay, Luffy,” Reggie said. “We’ll find it.”

            Luffy smiled at him, “Thanks, Reggie!”

            Reggie huffed and moved the wood aside, “Don’t thank me yet! Lack’s going to have both our heads when we get back, and that’s _after_ we somehow manage to get through Dogra!”

            Luffy laughed at that, because yeah, some of the bandits could be really funny about things like that.

            Together they started digging through the collapsed ship once more, until the sun started to set, an orange blanket falling over them.

            Then a gleam of orange flickered in the corner of his eye. He thought it was the fire again, at first, but-

            But it was warmer. It felt more _real_ and warm and he turned and ran and started sifting through the black sand and… and found a length of pipe.

            He pulled it up and checked the top to be _sure-_

And smiled widely when he found the _‘A’_ scratched into the top piece.

            “Hi, Ace,” he whispered, then jumped up and waved the pipe around, “Reggie! I found it!

            Reggie looked up from where he’d been digging in the sand himself, and flopped backwards in relief, “Thank the _stars.”_

            Luffy laughed, and decided he liked Reggie.

* * *

             _“Hurry up, would ya?” Sabo yelled into the hideout. He sighed when he saw the two had made no progress in their little dispute._

_Ace was holding one end of a pipe, Luffy the other, and they glared at each other without blinking, and Sabo wondered how long they would actually stand there if left alone, given how stubborn the two were._

_“This is_ my _pipe, Luffy, let go!”_

_“No way! It’s mine! Yours had that dent in it!”_

_“Did not!”_

_“Did too!”_

_Sabo sighed, “Guys, does this really matter?”_

_He took a step back when both turned their glares on him, “Of course it does!”_

_He laughed nervously, casting about for an idea, “Well, um…”_

_They turned away from him and glared at each other again, and Sabo sighed._

_His stomach growled. Which prompted both of theirs to growl._

_He got an idea._

_“Then, look, how about I let Ace use mine-” he held his pipe out to Ace, who took the end of it with a confused look, “Luffy, you can use the unclaimed one, and I’ll take the one you both think is yours. Whoever can land the last blow on today’s dinner gets this one, sound fair?”_

_Ace scrunched up his face and Luffy pursed his lips in that sour-face he made when he thought._

_“But, but…” Luffy stuttered out, “How will we remember whose pipe is whose?”_

_Sabo blinked, then snapped his fingers with a grin, “Hang on! Ace, can I see my pipe back for a minute?”_

_Ace handed it back, and Sabo reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchknife he’d found in the terminal -he was surprised it had gone unclaimed so long, with how sharp it was, even if it was kind of hard to open it -and went to scratching._

_A minute later, he blew on the engraving and turned to show the other two the ‘S’ he’d applied, “There! After we decide which one you’ll keep, I’ll put the first letter of your name on it! That way we won’t get them mixed up.”_

_Ace grinned, “Hey, that’s a good idea!”_

_“Yeah!” Luffy tossed Sabo the pipe they’d been fighting over and snatched up the other one, and Sabo handed his to Ace, “Now let’s goooo!”_

_He jumped down the trap door, his words growing faint as he fell to the ground._

_“Luffy! Wait up!”_

_Sabo laughed and jumped out after Ace, sliding down the ladder and chasing after their younger brother._

_Luffy smiled the whole time._

* * *

             _“What the hell were you thinking!?_ Jorda and Dolt came back alone and then _Ido_ came back and did you _really think it was a good idea to just wander around the terminal all on your own right now-!?”_

Reggie yawned and scratched the back of his head. He was tired, sweaty, pretty sure he was seeing through a layer of gray thanks to all the soot he’d gotten in his eyes today. Lack screaming at the top of his lungs as he looked at both him and a still-grinning Luffy was really just washing over him than actually registering.

            The kid had found the pipe right as the sun had started to go down, right at the edge of the water, half-buried in the sand and behind a couple of wood planks. A miracle, really, but the way the kid had lit up and ran to him and nearly bashed his head in with the damn thing made it _really_ hard to regret anything he’d done today.

            “Are you even listening to me!?”

            He refocused on Lack, “Not really. You worry too much.”

            “Yeah!” Luffy piped in, still grinning, “We’re back now!” Then he sniffed the air and wandered inside, “Hey, did you guys bring any meat back? I’m hungry!”

            _“You don’t get to eat until you clean up and let me change your bandages!”_

“Awwwww!”

            Reggie grinned and turned to the bath-house over to the side. Might as well clean up, himself.

            He cast a glance toward the forest, where he knew a metal pipe was planted near the edge of one of Colubo’s many cliffside slopes, facing the wide open sea.

            Yeah, he didn’t regret it one bit.


	3. Moving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: The sads continue. But they're getting better.

“Dolt!”

He paused in the middle of his yawn, glancing down to see a very eager Luffy staring up at him, gaze excited and determined and with that light that meant Luffy had gotten an idea.

Dolt started to grin-

“Yeah?”

“Teach me how to use a staff!”

-and blinked. Several times. _Didn’t see that coming._

“You want me to teach you Bo-jutsu?”

Luffy’s head nodded several times, “Uh-huh! I wanna learn how to use a pipe like you use your staff!”

“Really, now?” Dolt knelt down to eye-level with the kid, “And why’s that?”

Luffy’s lips pursed while his eyes glanced to the side in that look he always got when trying to avoid the truth, “No reason!”

Dolt raised an eyebrow and watched Luffy sweat. The kid held stubborn for an entire minute before he caved and grumbled out, “’Cause we used ‘em all the time.”

Dolt’s lips thinned. _This kid’ll be the death of me._

“Alright, then!” He stood, smiling reassuringly, “Let’s go get you that pipe, then, and we’ll get started!”

Luffy’s eyes widened, as did his smile, “Really!?”

“Yup!”

_“Woohoo!”_ Luffy cheered, bolting away, “Let’s go!”

        “Hey -Luffy! Wait up!”

* * *

 

“We want to leave the hideout.”

Ido froze, one foot just inside the doorway. Gable and Din stood in front of Jorda, awaiting the verdict. Jorda turned away from cleaning his gun to look over the two bandits before him. They looked well enough, if oddly determined.

He shrugged, “That’s fine. Just don’t be long.”

Gable, the one leading the duo, grimaced, “No, that’s…”

Din picked up, voice firm, “What we mean is, we want to leave the Dadan Family.”

It was a conversation Ido had had with them, not long ago. He’d told them he wasn’t the authority here, that only their senior members could give them that clearance. Of course, he hadn’t expected them to go to Jorda. Magra, Dogra –either of them would have been the better choice.

Then again, as Ido watched Jorda’s eye twitch and eyes harden, maybe that was exactly why they’d gone to him. Say what one would about bandits, but the Dadan Family never backed down from one of their own.

“And why would you want to do that?” Jorda asked, voice low.

Din gulped, “It’s -it’s not just us. Some others, too. We’re all happy to have had this family but…” Din trailed away.

Gable continued, “Dadan’s gone, Jorda. We know we’re some of the newer members, but even before we lost her, we were just holing up in the mountain, and… honestly, I feel it’s time we move on.”

Jorda grit his teeth, and they all stewed in those words.

“Actually…”

_“Erk_ ,” Ido jumped, ducking forward and out of the doorway where Dolt stood. _I hate it when he does that._ “I’ve been meaning to bring this up with Magra, but I think it might be best if we disband the Dadan Family.”

Nothing. Anyone in the hideout that _hadn’t_ been listening certainly was now. No one moved, no one breathed, Ido covered his ears, and then-

_“WHAT!?”_

Ido watched Jorda’s horror fall away, expression settling into anger. That had always been his default when he heard something he didn’t like. “Maybe you should explain to me what exactly is going through your thick skull?”

Rio recovered enough to sputter, “What -what do you mean, disband!? It’s not like we want the family to—”

“I mean just that,” Dolt interrupted. “We’re not much the Dadan Family anymore, are we?”

Ido opened his mouth, maybe to question him, maybe to scold him on that horrid lack of tact – _because really, Dolt? It’s been two months, and you pull something like this!?_ He couldn’t get so much as a word out before Jorda had a fist aimed at Dolt’s skull.

Dolt ducked away, standing back upright once it became clear Jorda was withholding his second attempt, “You can’t tell me that isn’t the reason.” He aimed a glare at all of them but kept one eye on Jorda. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, Jorda—”

“Surprise, surprise,” Jorda growled.

“—and,” Dolt ground out. “We haven’t really _been_ bandits in a long time. After the Terminal, well,” he threw a thumb back to Rio and Gable, who stiffened at being brought in, “you know as well as I do that a lotta the reason we’re here was because of Dadan.”

“So, what!? Are you just giving up on being a bandit, then!?”

“You mean you’d rather keep this family going on some misguided sense of duty!?” Dolt snapped, and Jorda flinched back, “You’d rather keep living as a shadow of what we used to be!?”

“Is that what you think we are?”

Dolt’s eyes narrowed, “This family’s all I’ve ever had, _old man._ But not even you can be that _blind._ No one _wanted_ to leave when we holed up here because we still had a leader, still had a _direction._ We don’t anymore. You’re not gonna try and guilt everyone that wants to go just because you can’t move on, are you?”

“You’re _wrong—”_

“Why’s everybody yelling?”

Ido snapped his eyes over to the door. Luffy stood there, a curious frown on his face, clutching a piece of metal pipe.

Dolt closed his eyes, inhaled, and looked to the kid, “Aren’t you supposed to be practicing what I told you?”

Luffy froze, obvious guilt at being caught on his face, then scrambled for a reason to be there, “Uh -oh, yeah! Jo, can you help me aim better later?”

Ido blinked. _Jo?_ Then he nearly laughed when Jorda deflated and looked at the kid, defeated, _“Why_ do you keep calling me that?”

Luffy just smiled.

Jorda sighed, “Yeah, later.”

“Yes!” Luffy cheered. The kid paused when Dolt raised an eyebrow at him, and darted back out the door.

Ido shuffled over to Lack, who’d been watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow. Lack looked to him, and he gave the doctor his best _fix this_ face. Confrontations were in no way his forte. He was and always had been an observer. Lack, on the other hand, was an older member than he, and had been dealing with _everyone’s_ bad moods for a long time. If anyone could fix this, it’d be him.

Lack sighed, moving forward, aiming a hard look at Jorda and Dolt, “Alright, enough of this. Get your asses back to doing something. I could care less what, just stop standing around.”

Jorda scoffed, stomping over to his gun and sitting down to finish cleaning. Dolt watched him for a moment before stalking back outside. The hideout slowly settled back down.

Ido looked between the furious Jorda and the door Dolt had left through. 

        Lack placed a hand on his shoulder and jerked his head to the door, “Go keep an eye on him, will you?”

        Ido glanced at him. They both knew Dolt wouldn’t show it if he was angry, but Ido needed the time alone as much as the rest of them, and Lack was willing to let him have it.

        So, Ido nodded and walked outside. He looked around until he spotted Dolt, and Luffy… who smacked himself in the head with a pipe?

“Stop trying to go so fast so soon, Luffy. Get the motions right, then you can work on speed.”

“But it’s fun!”

Ido huffed a laugh and settled down near their wood stockpile. It was far enough out of the way he wouldn’t be seen, and he supposed he just wanted time to… well, _think._

He’d joined the Dadan family back when they’d still been wreaking havoc across East Blue, years ago. He’d been wandering the dregs of society, the only ability to his name the way he could blend into the background. It was what made getting information so easy, not that he’d ever done anything more than swindle a free meal with it before he’d met Dadan.

He frowned wistfully. Dadan’s original troupe had been smaller than they were now, had barreled into his life and dragged him off before he’d even known what was happening. He hadn’t ever regretted the lifestyle choice, not when it was already several steps up from where he’d been before. Now, though…

Without Dadan here, he didn’t know what to do. And as shocked as he was when Dolt had said it, he couldn’t help but feel that fact was proof enough of the truth.

He really _didn’t_ have a direction anymore.

“Wah!” Luffy’s pipe clattered to the ground.

“Try again!” Dolt said cheerily.

Ido laughed awkwardly when the pipe flew out of Luffy’s grasp and hit the ground. Dolt just laughed and helped him adjust a stance.

That was _it_ though. None of them did.

Jorda had been with Dadan almost as long as Magra and Dogra, but he’d always been loyal. Always protected them, and no matter his quick temper, took the time to get to know them all.

Dolt… Dolt had joined after Ido. He didn’t actually know the whole story -he suspected Dadan had been the only one to get that out of him -but they’d found him half-dead in the hold of a ship, nearly starved to death. This wouldn’t have mattered much to any of them, normally -people died all the time, awful luck was just as much a killer as stupidity in their profession. Dadan, however, had frowned, stomped over and poked Dolt. Asked him what the hell he was there for. Dolt had said something, and to this day, Ido didn’t know what had made Dadan scowl and toss him over her shoulder to bring along.

Dolt and Jorda had argued every day after that. Dolt faced the world with humor and grins, and Jorda was too serious for them to really get along. Or so Ido had thought. Dadan had dragged them both off one day, and the two had come back, grudgingly tolerant of one another, until eventually the squabbles became endearing rather than spiteful. Ido could see how they’d warmed up to one another.

Ido hadn’t seen them ready to truly _argue_ like they had just now in years, since Dolt had first joined. Since before Dadan had set them straight. And _that_ sent the facts home more than anything.

Dadan was _gone._ And the pieces of their family were scrambling, trying to find their places without her. Jorda was willing to push them forward as they had been on sheer force of will. Dolt was willing to let the pieces fall where they might.

And Ido… Ido couldn’t really say which he preferred.

“Hello, anyone home?”

Ido looked up and blinked at the kind smile that met him. “M- Makino?”

* * *

 

_“We’re…_ I’m _sorry we didn’t come sooner, Makino,” Magra’s head bowed. “I’m sorry it took us so long to tell you.”_

_She… didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what to do._

“We lost them.”

_Things had been going fine at the bar. Magra and Dogra had come in, grim-faced, and she’d felt worried. They’d told her the whole story, Dogra stubbornly stuttering through his piece, and…_

_…she couldn’t do it. Didn’t want to do it. Didn’t want to connect the word ‘dead’ with the faces of those two boys and one of her best friends._

_It didn’t seem real._

_But it was. It was, and as much as she wanted to ignore it, to pretend that they’d never come down the mountain and told her, as much as she wanted to throw them out and hide away…_

_“What… what about Luffy?”_

_As devastated as she was, Luffy was definitely feeling so much worse._

_“He’s… better than he was,” Dogra admitted, fidgeting with the bandages wrapped around his arms, “Dolt talked to him a few days ago. He’s… more himself now.”_

_Makino took a breath and nodded, “Good. Good…”_

_Magra frowned, “Makino—”_

_“No, I’m—I_ will be _fine, I just…” She shook her head. “I’ll… I’ll come visit soon. Just… I’ll come see Luffy soon, alright?”_

_They looked to each other, concern passing between them, but Makino didn’t pay them much more attention. She turned around and started cleaning, ushering the few people present out early. The bandits shuffled out not long after._

_She was in the middle of cleaning the tables when the doors creaked open._

_“I’m sorry, but we’re closed early today,” she said, not looking up, scrubbing at a particularly bad stain. She would finish the tables, then clean the floors, then wash the dishes, take stock of the cellar, fix that squeaky door hinge—_

_“What? A mayor can’t come check on why his favorite bar closed early?”_

_Makino froze, the rag pausing in it’s rhythmic motions._

_“… Makino?”_

_Her shoulders shook._

_She looked up._

_“They -they’re gone…” And finally, finally, tears fell from her eyes, “They’re really gone, aren’t they?”_

* * *

 

It had taken her… too long to finally work up the courage to ascend the mountain once again.

What she was met with was what she expected.

It was quiet, the usual boisterous atmosphere completely subdued under an air of heavy depression. It made her skin itch, made her wish for a way to lighten the mood, like she would at her bar if her patrons came in downtrodden. It made the lack of happy greeting the boys and Dadan usually gave her that much harsher.

The first person she noticed was Luffy.

He wasn’t _smiling,_ really. He was listening. Dolt was there, coaching Luffy through some stance with the pipe in his hand -since when had Luffy ever wanted to learn to use a weapon? -and Luffy listened with all his attention, more focused than she’d ever seen him on anything but food.

It made her pause, her hand halfway up, ready to wave and call out before she even consciously decided to.

Luffy nodded several times, his eyebrows furrowed. His eyes only did that when he really _was_ trying to listen, not just nodding along for the sake of finishing the conversation. He shifted then, thinking through what he had to do, and moved-

-and slipped, landing on his back.

Dolt shook his head, pulling Luffy up, and setting him on the ground with a huff and a laugh. Luffy laughed as well, and then began to listen again when Dolt added a demonstration to the move.

Luffy was… different. He was _trying._ Harder than she’d really ever seen him try something. He was pushing forward, with everything he had.

She blinked, her eyes suddenly watering, and wiped away the tears. Luffy was trying his best.

She took a breath, hefted the large basket she’d brought, and smiled. She would do her best too.

A quick look around, and she nearly jumped when she spotted Ido sitting not far from her, watching the two train blankly, lost in thought. She wouldn’t be having that.

“Hello, anyone home?”

Ido jumped, only just noticing her as well, “M- Makino?”

She smiled, “Hey there, Ido. Do you think you could help me set this up over there?” She pointed to a spot in the clearing the hideout resided in, hidden a bit from where Dolt and Luffy were working. “We’ll make it a surprise.”

Ido blinked several times. Then he smiled. It was strained, yes… but it was genuine. And she was glad for that.

“Sure, why not?”

* * *

 

Dogra hefted his burden a bit to shift it on his shoulder. He was careful, though. It had taken most of the day just to make sure they’d had enough, after all.

“Do you think they’ll be angry with us?” He asked, shuffling forward with Magra.

Magra sighed, “You mean will _Jorda_ be angry. You’ve heard what’s been going around the family as well as I. He’s the only one that’s been deaf to it. I swear, he’s the most stubborn man I’ve ever met.”

Dogra chucked, knowing Magra never really would speak like that to anyone but them. “You’re right… but… Magra, what do we even _say?_ This is…”

“… ‘This _is_ the right thing to do, isn’t it?’”

Dogra looked up to him as he finished the thought aloud. Magra smiled, “I don’t really know that, Dogra. I don’t know what’s going to come…” He paused and looked up. Dogra followed his gaze until they were both staring up into the wide blue sky. “She wouldn’t like things the way they are now. This is… the best I can come up with.”

Dogra sighed, “I think… it’s for the best.”

Magra’s eyes softened, “I hope so.”

* * *

 

Jorda finished reassembling his gun and sighed.

_What am I doing?_

A shadow fell over him, “It’s tough moving on, isn’t it?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve had to,” he said as Lack took a seat beside him. “That doesn’t make it any easier.”

“It never gets easier,” Lack said, pulling a flask out of his pocket and taking a drink. He held it out, and Jorda raised an eyebrow.

“Been hiding booze, again, eh?”

“Like you don’t know where all my stashes are,” Lack waved the flask in his face. Jorda snatched it away, taking his own drink.

“I know how things are,” he said, handing the flask back, “I didn’t need that kid to scream my faults at me.”

“He just said what we’ve all been thinking,” Lack leaned back and looked to the ceiling. “I’m surprised, honestly. I figured _he’d_ be the one holding onto the past and _you’d_ be pushing forward no matter how hard it hurt. Then again, he’s never been the type to linger.”

Jorda snorted, “No, he hasn’t.”

They passed the flask around twice more, enjoying the quiet between them, listening as the rest of the family carried on in different parts of the hideout.

“What now, then?” Lack asked.

Jorda leaned forward, elbows on his knees, “I won’t keep anyone here. Dadan would’ve flayed me if she’d ever found out I tried. That was never what she wanted with this family.”

“But you’re not too keen on seeing them go,” Lack prodded.

Jorda glared, “Of course not. Who the hell’s gonna keep them all in line if I’m not around?”

Lack stared.

“What?” Jorda scowled.

_“Pff-_ Hahahaha! And I thought I was bad,” Lack laughed, standing and hiding the flask away again, “You can worry all you want, Jorda, but the facts are that it’s time to let go of what was.”

Jorda frowned, “Don’t laugh at me, upstart.”

Lack laughed.

* * *

 

“Okay, kid, let’s call it a day,” Dolt grinned.

Luffy looked up from where he was lying on the ground exhausted, and Dolt saw him pout before he turned away and started walking toward the hideout.

“Aww, really?”

“Yup, I’m done for the day.” And what a day it had been. Luffy was clumsy and rushed through things and for all intents and purposes had a hard time really comprehending what he said… but he never ran out of energy and kept going no matter how many drills Dolt put him through, and didn’t forget anything he _did_ manage to learn, so Dolt counted it as a win.

He glanced back. Luffy picked himself up off the ground. “But hey, if you’re still ready to go, you still have that training with Jorda to get to.”

Luffy lit up with a smile, wider and happier than he’d seen all day, “Oh yeah! Where is he? I wanna get started!”

Dolt laughed, “You might just have to wait until tomorrow, Luffy! It’ll be late, soon!”

Luffy pouted, “So!?” Then his stomach made that unholy noise, and he crumpled, “I’m hungry…”

“Well, I guess that means you’ve got plenty of room.”

Dolt looked up from the kid, spotting someone he didn’t think he’d see so soon, “Makino? What brings you here?”

        “Makino!” Luffy cheered, though his stomach growling once again meant he didn’t move much beyond waving his arms.

She pursed her lips, “There’s too much gloom around here. Are you bandits or mercenaries?”

Dolt scowled at that, but she just turned to Luffy, “And I brought a picnic up.”

“Picnic!?” Luffy’s fatigue washed away at the mention of food, “Where?”

She smiled, and pointed around the corner -no wonder he hadn’t noticed her, “Ido and I set it up over there, but I need you to go get everyone else before you start eating, okay? It’s for everyone.”

Luffy nodded eagerly, rushing into the hideout and yelling at the top of his lungs. Dolt just knew  the last sentence didn’t even register. There’d be barely anything left.

“You too.”

He looked to the woman. He winced when he saw the grief in her eyes, opened his mouth to say _something..._

“No,,” she said, holding up a hand, and he couldn’t remember the last time she looked so determined, “We’re all going to have some fun together.”

“…right,” he muttered, and she nodded and walked away.

“Well, that’s new…” he muttered.

“What is?”

“Gah!” Dolt spun around. “Magra! Dogra! …what’s with the bags?”

Magra raised an eyebrow, “Something important. We need everyone gathered up.”

“Well, Makino and the kid have already beat you to that,” he jerked a thumb back at the hideout, “She says we’re going to have a picnic.”

Dogra blinked, looking as bewildered as Dolt felt, “Makino? She came up then?”

“Yeah,” Dolt frowned, “Sooner than I thought she’d come, really, but…” His gaze followed after Luffy’s dust trail, “...it’s not that surprising.”

Magra hummed, “Well, let’s not keep this waiting, then.”

Dolt blinked as they walked past him, “Wait, keep what waiting? Why do you guys always leave me in the dark?”

* * *

 

“Wait, Luffy! Don’t eat all that-!”

“Damn black hole! …where’s the booze? I need booze.”

“Makino! How’ve you been!? It’s been a while!”

Magra rounded the corner and rolled his eyes to see the _picnic_ winding straight into _party._ The air was lighter than it had ever been.

Which almost made him feel guilty when he and Dogra placed the bags down, drawing the attention to themselves.

“Hey, Magra, Dogra! Glad you’re back! Hope that’s food you’ve got in there,” Reggie said, grinning as Luffy inhaled another plate.

Magra exchanged a look with Dogra, then took a breath. “Listen up, Dadan Family!”

He let his gaze drift around, trying to convey how serious he was. The beginnings of the party fell silent.

        Every single person here was his family. They didn’t need any build ups, and Magra decided it was best to just say it, “From today forward, the Dadan Family no longer exists.”

Silence. And then…

_“What!?”_

Surprisingly, Magra noted as he looked to the man sitting near the building, Jorda wasn’t among those who made the outburst. He simply watched the gathering until he met Magra’s eyes.

Magra saw he wasn’t happy. He’d probably wouldn’t be no matter what they decided, but he nodded, nonetheless.

Dogra shuffled forward and dug into a bag, “We’re disbanding. We’ve lost our leader… and we’re not going to be doing much else besides living on this mountain from now on. You’re all free to what you want…”

He pulled a box out. It was slightly bigger than his hand, and had holes in it, and most of the bandits looked at it in confusion.

Reggie’s eyes widened, however, “Wait, is that…?”

Dogra opened the box and pulled out the transponder snail, rigged with a small communication set.

Dogra smiled, eyes watery, and Magra’s lips tightened, “But whatever you do, just keep in touch.”

Jorda choked, looking at the bags they’d brought. “Exactly how many of those…? Did you _steal_ all of those!?”

“Well,” Magra shrugged, “I’m still a bandit, after all. I won’t be showing my face around Goa anytime soon.”

Dogra shook his head, “Me either.”

“Then…”

The whisper was by no means the loudest piece of conversation happening, but Magra heard it. He turned, finding Dolt standing with his head down, shoulders tense.

A moment passed. Dolt’s shoulders slumped, and he lifted his head.

Dolt smiled.

_Really_ smiled. Magra had known him long enough to tell the difference, even if it was shadowed with sadness and relief, even if those shadows he normally hid skittered in the corners.

        Magra smiled back.

Then Dolt grinned and strode forward, attitude right back in place, “That’s right, you assholes! We might not be the Dadan Family anymore, but we’re still family, whether you like it or not! Now, get your damn snails and _call,_ or I’ll just have to hunt you all down myself!”

With that, the somber moment ended, and Magra watched as the frowns faded away into grins, and the grins into laughter as the booze was passed around again.

Dolt jumped in, wrangling food away from Luffy, who had been eating as he watched the entire ordeal alongside Makino. Jorda kicked Dolt in the leg and snagged his drink, which ended up in the two of them squabbling over it -and Magra swore he saw Ido sigh in relief as he watched them. Reggie somehow rounded Lack and the lightweights into a drinking game, which he would end up losing before the night was out, _because_ he rounded Lack into it. Dogra wandered off to pass out snails. 

        Makino laughed as they had one last celebration together.

Magra watched it all and poured two cups. One he placed opposite himself, the other he knocked against it and drank.

“We’ve hit our end, old friend. But I don’t suppose it’s so bad…” He looked over at Luffy, who had somehow gotten involved in Jorda and Dolt’s brawl. “We’re tougher than you’d think. So... don’t worry about us.”

He heard a hearty laugh, a ghost of a memory, and smiled.

The world kept moving. They would, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I sat down and finished this chapter today, haha. I hated it and loved it at the same time, and I hope to hear some feedback on it! 
> 
> Also, in my One Piece Panic, I somehow created a discord. Whether you're a writer, artist, reader, want to hang, or simply feel like lurking about, here's a non-expiring link!
> 
> https://discord.gg/cbMGEWN
> 
> 'Till next time!


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